Threatened
by ngeo
Summary: Short AxS story. Some people have this little thing. A thing you wish you could share. Asuka's heart is on fire.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything, characters and story are all owned by original copyright holders.

His hands became unsure as he came to realize he had an audience.

_Shinji had not seen Asuka in the apartment at all that day. Sundays were normally a day she took to walking about the city. It was a practice his perceptions had picked up through the sounds of doors closing. The smell of smoke and the feel of Tokyo 3's atmosphere upon her attire as she came by him cooking told him as much. This Sunday he had presumed that she would be where ever she went out into the city. _

_The bow of his cello was not comfortable in his hands. The ability to emulate the music of his saviors was worth the cramp in his hand that would inevitably come to be. Now was a time for music. It was not the place to think about the monsters that he was forced to kill, or the people he fought to understand. This was his act, his one confidence in his own body. _

_The deep voice of the cello washed into the walls as Shinji's hands piloted the two aspects of the device. Simple scales and mindless creations flowed onto one another to create a wall of sound. He took comfort in this form of art. Making an insulation of melancholy often only provided by his earbuds was his art. The face of the boy playing the cello took on a look of satisfied determination. _

_Hidden by the corners and distance of several walls Shinji's outspoken room mate found herself silenced by this performance. Her façade dropped for the time being, she fell back against the simple tan wall and listened to what she heard. She suddenly felt dumbstruck. The sound spoke of only pain and misunderstanding, but curved strongly to protect that trait. "How is it that this is coming from him?" Asuka had no way of knowing Shinji had this ability. _

_She wasn't exactly floored by the sound. She was not emotionally struck by its quality. However, there was one feeling that Asuka was drowning in. She gave Shinji lots of crap for a variety of things. She knew some he deserved while others were simply her way of communicating with him. They communicated in that fashion, she contended and he meekly accepted her wrath. The voice of the cello languidly climbing and descending was threatening to Asuka. Even if Shinji were to have the same weak look to his face right at this time, his voice by extension was scaring Asuka. _

_This form of communication was on a level she could not meet him evenly. How enthralling it must be, to have that. She could scream and berate him for weeks to come, but he would still have this ability within his hands. She could not contend against this. _

_She hoisted back up to full height and walked to the living room where Shinji was playing. Her clothing was not at all adequate for dealing with her room mate, but the white slip and underwear she wore would give her a menacing appearance to the person she was to face. He sat there, on a chair borrowed from the kitchen table, in his school uniform. Nothing was different save the unfamiliar instrument and the power he wielded through the simple music he played. _

_He was aware of her, that much she could tell. _

His sounds wavered only shortly. He was afraid of her and her provocative appearance. He was very afraid of the new look on her face. It would wait however. His need for this action had not nearly dimmed. He smoothed out his playing and laid on some harmonious depth that he was saving for a deeper moment during his practice time. Several moments later he came to a stop, She continued to stand there looking directly at him.

He was still drunk of the sound and action of playing. He began to apologize but it was warped. He sardonically bit off, "I'm sorry for waking you." How unlike him the two people in the room thought. Asuka was unfazed by the odd response and just continued to look at him with an unreadable face. Her inner confusion left no avenue for the normal rage she bestowed on him.

The eyes which Shinji looked into contemplated him deeply. The musical high he was in only moments before was shredded in the gaze of the girl. The case for the cello opened with a habitual flick of his foot and it was placed down inside the blue soft lining of the black container. The boy stood and picked up the case. Turning to his room, he leveled his eyes at her once more.

They stood where they were. Both teenagers, but this was no longer a question of superiority of mind, fame, or sexuality. The actions that had come from nowhere had turned this into a challenge. General awkward situations like this would be resolved with their trademark one-sided arguments or sometimes even physical dust ups.

How was it that it had taken only mere moments for her loose treatment of Shinji to turnabout into grudging respect? Case in hand, he went to his room after breaking the shared look of misunderstanding. The newfound feelings between the two of them were to be on hiatus for the time being.

She walked along the streets of Tokyo3 with her hands in the front pockets of a light zip up sweater jacket. During her life here in this city, she was always doing one of several things. Sometimes she fought against the demons that hound her thoughts by going out onto the streets and looking to blend in. Often times she just laid out upon her bed and let the thoughts crash into one another. Much of her life was NERV and through that dealing with her roommates and the worries of the world. Her free time was much of the urban culture provided by Tokyo3.

The walks could end up any number of ways. She privately had been traveling about the city and enjoying it. Coffee in a comfortable chair over looking the city had been a habit ever since she had wandered into a high-rise building that was advertising an art gallery by local painters. She now sat in this particular part of the building. She looked out through the floor to ceiling glass walls. Her reflection looked at her as she sipped on the paper cup.

She was nothing but a teenager when you saw her without the plugsuit and the airs of her pride. Blue eyes seen over the lip of the coffee cup were strikingly beautiful. It was true. At this time though, she had found an impasse. The thoughts and pleasant atmosphere of the low seat where suddenly forgotten as her mind switched to business.

Shinji Ikari had been a thorn in the lifestyle of her prideful march. His problems and his actions had made her look in on herself. She became unable to ignore the parts of her that she kept for silent musing before sleep took over. This most recent find had broken her perception of him. She would probably just keep attacking him with insults to somehow break him of irritating habits if she had not stayed home several hours more than normal that day several weeks ago. He had a voice within him. Unavoidable, it was undeniable. Words spoken from her mouth would not compare to that sound.

After having been alerted to the hidden parts of the Ikari boy, Asuka was left stuck in a loop of contemplation. Her coffee was finished while the internal argument proceeded without a suitable solution. The building she walked through was definitely oriented towards business, the halls were paneled in light colored wood and the floors were a deeper mix of colors. She liked having the authority to walk these halls without any real reason. This had been a fun game, to start walking somewhere in the city and see how long it was before she was questioned by someone. A quick flip of the NERV photo id shut them down rather quickly it seemed.

This particular building had been afraid of her at first. Lately though the reception did not question her entry. At times they politely gave her a salutation by name. It was certainly an interesting feeling to be respected in a place with which you had no reason to attend. She easily stood out in her nonprofessional attire as she walked the halls in random directions.

A pleasant scent grabbed her by the nose and brought her to a large area reserved for banquets. During times of disuse the large room somewhere high in the tower was turned into a grand area for associates to have lunch. She pushed her luck by just making up a lunch from the buffet table and sitting down to ingest the catered food.

Salad was a nice way to finish up a meal she often thought. Her finishing touch on the interestingly acquired meal went down easy as she contemplated the sounds of the room. It had taken her by surprise at first. There was a grand piano behind her, its top cover open. The long strings hummed and at times shouted in both highs and gut shaking lows. She looked back to see whom was playing it. Finding no one, she figured that the piano had some sort of computer system that would play songs from electronic sheet music.

The easygoing music gave taste to the food. Her mind compensated the mood with the pleasant direction of the automatic piano. She was Asuka Langley Sohryu. She was a tool of an organization trying to prevent unknown disaster. She lived with Shinji Ikari, same occupation. She had seen some tough shit in her life but was aware that some people were worse off.

The meaning of life? She did not know. In retrospective of her actions to the people around her and the contemplation of her purpose, she found directives. She had to fix her feelings, the feelings of the person she wanted to beat, and find something everyone says that people can find. She would start with that sound. She would impress Shinji and break him of his dull defenses. Maybe they could both drop their selves for a moment. She would like that.

His several strings would not beat her ten fingers and the army of drawn cord which she would proudly command.

Several weeks later NERV's financial department had unknowingly funded several lessons for the second child. She had sought out the playing which suited her plans. A particular pianist had played several nights at a local gig with an admirably large crowd. Asuka had approached her and been rather stern about wishing to fund the pianist in exchange for novice lessons.

Being an equally strong character the female musician had taken to Asuka's offer only after inquiries as to her purpose. "I need the skills to take some one off a high horse that they are not aware they are riding." Further planning made the situation fun and exciting for the pair.

Nights later in the woman's flat, Asuka began to take lessons. The red haired girl's pride shoved to one side. A new ability that had been borne of this situation was to be capable of listening and learning from every motion and nuance of another person. Nightly lessons and the strong examples of what one was to do with a piano enabled Asuka to use her understanding and boiling emotions. Within months or perhaps weeks she would have what she sought after. A bridge between her soul and her hands would do what she needed.

She was going to dig that personality from his depths, toss it about, and contain it solidly within her grasp.

His purpose for music felt less contrived than her reason. She immediately was aware of that the second time she had witnessed him playing. As her plans had followed through, she just ignored the fact that anything had changed between them. Throughout the couple of months since the first odd occurrence, they treated one another with easy silence. Their guardian was confused, but could care less as the silence and polite way they regarded one another beat out the original setup by far. He played on occasion, just to do as he wanted or needed to. She sometimes sat in her room and contemplated him as he played.

Doubt often made her question the reasoning behind her plan that was soon on its way to completion. An eye for an eye, this was about making him listen to her and be drawn to her. Not unlike that which he had unknowingly done only a short time ago. There was NERV to deal with, but things were silent as of late. She would move on him the next time she caught him playing.

He was finishing up one night when she walked into the room. It was running late into the night. Without saying words she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him towards the entrance. She threw him one of her jackets and tossed on another of her own. The pleasant smell of the material would surely add to the effect. He was confused and slightly skittish but to his credit followed without question.

An interesting effect of having to go to these lessons every day was Asuka's car. No one spare her was aware that she had bought a medium bodied roadster to deal with the travel time and her other hobbies. This must be slicing his mind apart she thought. He looked stupidly at her as she pressed the keyless entry and swiftly ducked into the driver's side door. Again, to his credit, he followed and put himself down into the passenger seat. Like the people who questioned her reason to enter buildings and go places she had no business, the auto dealer had little say against the NERV id. Having been paid for a luxury car in full probably helped matters as well.

She drove out to a spot that she had found long before any of this had come to pass. There was a small business oriented complex that almost served as a mall. A large hub with three floors opened up from ground to ceiling in the center of the rectangular building. The doors were never locked as she had found out one night while taking a walk. Walking in from ground level one looked up and saw the glass walls of the two stories that wrapped around the central area. Near the back from the entrance was a raised area with a full scale grand piano.

_She walked in and touched the well shined top cover of the piano. The sun from shining through the glass roof above made the rest of the room reflect in on its surface. She shyly thumbed a number of its keys. She wondered what it would be like, to have mastery over something like this. To not be ground to Eva, to Nerv, and to the fate which she had accepted. "For another day" she thought._

She walked steadfast past several gentlemen having a talk about something or other. Perhaps they were working on a late night project and were having a break in the commons surrounded by their work places. Shinji deftly apologized when Asuka walked past them ignoring the wondering stares. As he caught up, she was already raising the top cover of the grand piano. She placed the standoff to hold the cover open above the strings of the well tuned instrument. Her body turned to find Shinji standing off towards the back of the piano watching. Signaling to him to move towards her, she grabbed his shoulders and put him in place near the opening of the piano.

The small four legged bench was adjusted to her height quickly. He looked on, not really understanding what was occurring. She set her teeth and placed her fingers. She would destroy him. He would be clay in her hands. Shinji Ikari would be shaped by her skills and set free. She would watch with assured smugness as he walked back of his own volition. Set it free and if it comes back, it is yours. Her mental high only doubled over on itself as she began to work the keys.

Starting high and soft, she began a determined string of notes that spoke of an adventure in some far off place. It was soon juxtaposed to his very own line of notes he often played out in the apartment. The voices created by two hands walking across the keys. He sat in awe of the girl with such power. Her tempos went back and forth; the varieties of form were not stuck to one category. It was music, not exposition music, but thematic. She had taken his jumble of favorable compositions and made them into something dynamic. The two hands worth of music went into crescendo against the glass walls of the complex.

This garnered the attention of the people in the offices adjacent to the area and those that they had passed minutes earlier. They looked at the spectacle as she used the sheer force available to her from the high class instrument at her fingers. She had worked this into her head over a three dozen sessions with a paper and pencil. The melody and accompaniment that Shinji originally worked out were burned into her. Like one learns to swim and run, the muscle memory involved allowed her soul to take precedence. She curved notes and held them unexpectedly. No doubt she was the one pulling the strings both literally and figuratively.

If the clenching in her chest was any indication, she imagines that he would be bawling by the time she was through. This was her answer to his challenge. If he had ever issued one in the first place, she did not know. Her playing slowed into an even tempo with the higher notes providing a questioning melody. It said things without words. People would just fill in something, but she liked to imagine that it was a rally against some evil: a character that needed the help of others, but would turn to face anything alone despite the reluctance of those around.

The melody and background dropped off into several notes, like drops into a pond of water. They careened off the walls for several seconds. She took a small breath through her nose and let the pedals make a noise that would seem to indicate a cessation of the song. Her hands then took up the strong melody once again in dramatic fashion. If it was possible the song melted together even better as she worked to its conclusion.

Comparable to what she had watched her teacher do so many times, she worked the final chords like one wrung a towel. The sounds reverberated for what could be several minutes. It gave her time to think of the next move. As the final vibrations trailed off she looked towards him. His face was set in a determined smirk.

It was quite unexpected. Perhaps it was result of her using his material to begin something. Perhaps he was as intoxicated with the sound as she was. The people around the piano in the hub were clapping. Infused with the emotion she was pounding into them not too long ago. The time was right to put him in his place. Asuka was not worried of the consequences. She had a life to live, with or without the Eva, she would make the best of it.

She stood and took a bow to the crowd that had developed around the piano in the relatively short duration of the piece. She turned to Shinji and took his shirt in her fist. He was shoved against a pillar and confused as hell. Her lips took his rather quickly and directly. He didn't fight it naturally. It was time to take control of life; before it was taken from one of them.

If he didn't get the picture already he could be made to understand.

A/N: Not pre-read or anything, deeply inspired by some of the works of my favorite Eva fic authors. If you have the time for a few suggestions please fell compelled! Long time reader, first time writer.

-Ngeo


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